Question & Answer | Erin Dionne, Author.

Where do you get your ideas?: Most of the time, my stories begin with a character first. A picture might pop into my head, or I might see something in the news that makes me think of a specific person—anything can trigger me to create a character. Then I take lots of notes about that person: Who is he or she? What does she like or dislike? What’s his family like? Once I know who I’m writing about, then I work on what story I’m telling.
How did you get the idea for Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies?: I was driving home from work one day in 2003, when a picture popped into my head of a girl sitting in the cafeteria, eating a salad by herself. She seemed sad and lonely, and I wanted to know more about who she was. When I got home, I started making notes about her, and wrote a short story based on those notes. It’s called “On BBQ Day, No One Brings a Lunch,” and it was a story about Sandra, Celeste, and Lively. A few years later, I read the story at a conference and the workshop leader, author Wendy French (www.wendy-french.com), encouraged me to write more about Celeste. I took her advice, and I’m sure glad that I did! That story grew into a full-sized novel!
How long did it take you to write Models?: The first draft flew out of me in about six weeks! But that was after I’d worked on a short story about Celeste for two years—so I already knew her character pretty well. After that first draft, I revised the book thirteen times over the span of three years! So it took a lot of time and a lot of work.
Was any part of the story in Models true? Is Celeste you when you were in middle school?: Some parts of Celeste are a lot like me—like her, I love to read and was teased in school. I also wore a peach bridesmaid dress in my cousin’s wedding (there’s a picture of me wearing it in the back of the book!), threw up on my gym teacher’s shoes, and was bullied. But the pageant? Totally made up. I had friends who modeled a little bit, so I used their experience and made up the rest.
Will there be a sequel to Models? I want to read more about Celeste!: At this point, I don’t have plans to write more about Celeste. My editor and I feel that Celeste is in a good place right now—happy with herself and proud of her achievements—so I’m working on some different books, about new characters. I hope you like them, too!
So, what are those other books about?: My second book, The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet, comes out on January 10, 2010. It’s about an eighth grade girl named Hamlet Kennedy. Her parents are obsessed with Shakespeare and Elizabethan England, and dress, eat and talk straight out of the 1600s! If that’s not embarrassing enough, Hamlet’s seven-year-old sister, Dezzie, is a genius. And she’s going to eighth grade with Hamlet! Want more information? You can click here and see Total Tragedy’s Amazon page.; Right now (fall of 2009), I’m working on a third book. It’s about marching band, parades, and giant balloons.
I want to write a book. How do I do that?: First, you read. A lot. Everything you can get your hands on. Read stuff you like, but if you find something you don’t like, ask yourself “why?” Reading and asking those questions teaches you what you like in writing and what you think makes a good story. Then, start writing! You can write stories about your favorite characters from books or TV shows (called “fan fiction”), or you can make up your own characters and worlds. But remember: writing takes patience, time, and lots of revision!; Also, organizations like the Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators (www.scbwi.org) can be really helpful as you’re learning craft and developing as an author.

Can I send you my writing for you to critique?: Sadly, no. For both legal reasons and for reasons that I don’t have a lot of time, I can’t critique other people’s work. Plus—you really want someone to read your work who you can work with for a long time. So…how about talking to a friend, or teacher, or someone else you know who likes to read and asking them to critique your work? You could even start your own critique group (where you all share your work and comment on it) that way!
Selling a book must be so exciting! What did you do when you found out you were going to be published?: I went a little crazy when my book sold. If you want to read the whole story, check out my blog entry here.
What are your favorite books?: I read a lot, so it’s hard for me to pick favorites. Growing up, I really loved Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh, The Great Brain books by J.D. Fitzgerald, the Anastasia Krupnik books by Lois Lowry, and a mystery series called The Three Investigators. As an adult, my favorite YA (Young Adult) authors include Melissa Marr, Carolyn Mackler, Lauren Myracle, Carrie Jones and Jo Knowles.; I am also fortunate to be connected with a group of YA and middle grade authors whose books debuted in 2009—the 2009 Debutantes (www.feastofawesome.com). Check out our website for info about our titles!
What else do you do, besides write?: Lots of things! I’m an Assistant Professor of Liberal Arts at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA (www.montserrat.edu). I teach English and writing to art students, and I love my job.; I’m also a mom, wife, Red Sox fan, dog owner, vegetable garden grower, and former marching band member.
Where were you born? How old are you? Who is in your family?: Ah—the book report questions! For privacy reasons, I don’t like to give out my birthdate on the internet. So, you can put in your report that I was born in New England in the 1970s—okay? If your teacher has a problem with that, please direct him or her to this page on my web site!; Also, I don’t like to post information about my husband or daughter online. You can say that I’m married and have a little girl and a dog—I don’t mind posting about him online! Our dog’s name is Grafton. He’s a rescue dog, and we’re not sure what breed he is. Probably part Lab, but he’s small and runs really fast.
Grafton
I have more questions!: Cool! Contact Erin and I’m happy to answer them. I might even add your question to this list—so stay tuned!